Dick Blume/The Post-Standard A RAINBOW forms behind the National Grid building in Syracuse last fall.

Does National Grid think customers were born yesterday?
To the Editor:

Poor National Grid. Its shareholders only earned a 5 percent return last year. As Tim Knauss reported Jan. 30: “The British company’s top executives expect their business units to earn at least 10 percent return.” So they want the Public Service Commission to approve a 20 percent hike in electric delivery prices above what the current plan through 2012 allows.

Of course, National Grid’s senior vice president of rates and pricing proposes an accounting gimmick “that would make room for a $390 million (per year) increase in rates without raising customer bills.” Do they think we were born yesterday?

National Grid cites energy conservation and the recession for reducing its sales. Energy conservation is supposed to be a good thing, not something that results in higher rates to maintain corporate profits. And the recession is already hitting everyone; shouldn’t National Grid eat its share?

New York already has the 49th highest electric rates in the country (out of 50 states and Washington, D.C.), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Only Connecticut and Hawaii are higher. It seems to me that increasing our rates further will only drive more energy conservation and deepen the recession locally by exasperating the already challenging business climate in the region. So, by National Grid’s formula, which will become precedent if the PSC approves it, electric delivery rates will be locked in an upward vortex.

If National Grid needs to bolster revenue to maintain and upgrade its distribution network, then let any approval by the Public Service Commission be narrowly allocated for infrastructure.

Vonden Sleight
Fayetteville

National Grid, NYSEG are constantly greedy
To the Editor:

National Grid (“NiMo”) and NYSEG have lived so long on the billions that are supposed to be ending that their fat pay and overhead can’t do without it. Now they want 20 percent more to maintain that level.

Greed! The Public Service Commission (the utility service commission) should be abolished. Everyone should be paying the same for electric costs. Not the many variables across the state. Off-peak time should be metered at the generation source and all consumers benefiting.

The consumer price index is a phony gauge of prices keeping workers and seniors’ pay down while government, teachers, bankers, financial people, energy, etc. are all getting raises.

Instead of the consumer price index, let’s tie seniors on fixed incomes and under-50K workers to their benefits and salary increases. Ah! To dream!

L.A. Furco
Jordan

City, county should start its own energy company
To the Editor:

Once again, National Grid wants to increase its rates. The company’s officials say that sales are down and it is hurting them. Well isn’t that funny. It was National Grid, with all its advertisements on TV, that told us to use less energy. The company wanted us to use less so it would have to purchase less.

The solution to this is easy. The mayor of Syracuse and the Onondaga County executive should look into creating a city-county energy company. The savings to the city and the county could be passed on to the taxpayers, since city and county property would spend less on energy.

This could also be a carrot to any business that wants to start up in Onondaga County — the combined energy company could offer reduced rates on their utilities to open up a business, expand a business or relocate a business to Central New York.

Richard MacLean Sr.
Syracuse

Competitive transition charge is culprit in National Grid’s plan

To the Editor:

National Grid wants to charge us an extra $402 million per year for three years starting in 2011. To put this in perspective, according to their filing request with the Public Service Commission, National Grid’s additional charge approaches their yearly capital expenditures.

National Grid says it won’t increase rates. But that’s only because the so-called Competitive Transition Charge (CTC), a 10-year $4.8 billion surcharge on our electric rates, is expiring in 2011. The new charge will take its place. But make no mistake; we are being asked to pay an extra $1.2 billion over three years. And by 2014, you can be sure National Grid will come up with another charge, hoping to extend this bonus revenue stream forever, if it can.

The CTC is the main reason we are charged 15 cents/kWh rather than the more typical 10 cents/kWh across the country. By seeking the new surcharge, National Grid is either trying to swindle us, or is indicating its inability to run an electric utility efficiently. In that case, they should be made to sell their business to a more capable operator.

Carlo Moneti
Syracuse

Grid should try tightening belts like the rest of us senior citizens
To the Editor:

Regarding National Grid’s request for a 20 percent rate increase, I suggest they receive the same increase the senior citizens will receive for the next two years. Nothing!

Let them learn to live within their means. Try cutting the (overblown) salaries of all their executives and then tightening that belt.